Cinderella (English National Ballet) – Palace Theatre, Manchester

Writer: Prokofiev

Director/Choreographer: Michael Corder

Conductor: Alex Ingram

Reviewer: Malcolm Wallace

The Public Reviews Rating:

It’s a special year for English National Ballet. It’s sixty years since the company made its debut and what better way to celebrate than with this revival of Michael Corder’s sumptuous and award winning 1996 production of Prokofiev’s classic Cinderella.

The tale is a familiar one. Cinderella, the down trodden and put upon beauty is treated with disdain and made to work as a servant girl by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters. When the Prince hosts a gala ball poor Cinderella, with only rags for clothes, is left behind. Hurrah for the Fairy Godmother who transforms Cinderella into a beautiful princess and sends her off to the ball in beautiful coach. But she is warned, she must leave by midnight otherwise the spell will be broken. At the ball meets and falls hopelessly in love with the prince but at the strike of midnight flees leaving only a glass slipper behind. The distraught Prince visits the home of Cinderella family and both stepsisters try on the glass slipper, but to no avail as the slipper will only fit Cinderella’s feet. Happy ending!

As is the case with a lot of classical ballet not a great deal of time is devoted to telling the story and it all happens very quickly indeed which inevitably means there is a huge amount of pointless padding. But, frankly, in a production as good as this who cares?

There’s no denying the quality of Prokoviev’s score. Whilst it does lack the accessibility and memorable tunes of the likes of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake or Nutcracker, in many ways it outshines both these other works in terms of style. There are plenty of recurring themes associated with each character and a dark quality that perfectly suits the underlying darkness of the story. Under the direction of Alex Ingram the huge ENB orchestra make the most of the score and the final scene sounds particularly beautiful.

Clearly choreographed to show off the dancers skills to the max Corder does, however, ensure the story is told clearly and humorously and his choreography throughout is intricate and classy with impeccable and incredibly slick dancing by the company of ENB.

Dancing the title role is Erina Takahashi who is a joy to watch and an asset to the production. Dimitri Gruzdyev as the Prince ably supports her and together their act 2 pas de deux is a highlight. Adela Ramirez and Laura Bruna play the stepsisters and both prove able comic actresses as well as stunning dancers. Desiree Ballantyne makes a solid impression as the Fairly Godmother although I feel she is underused a little.

Visually this production is beautiful. There are some highly effective costumes and the full company look glorious in their uniformed costumes at the ball. I particularly liked the costumes for the fairies of the four seasons although more distinction between summer and spring is needed. Walker is also responsible for the sets, which, again, look lovely and retain the magical quality that this whole production embodies.

The busy Palace Theatre and warm response on opening night in Manchester proves that there is an audience for ballet and if ENB continue to produce excellent productions like this then there is surely a rich future ahead. Here’s to another sixty years!